City of Laredo Negotiates to Purchase Mercy Hospital
For years the future of the Mercy Hospital has been unknown in the past.
The owners of the property have said they have looked for investors to improve the building and make it functional again. But now the city is looking into taking it into their own hands by discussing possibly purchasing the property.
For over 40 years Carlos Valdez has lived less than a block away from the Mercy Hospital.
Having a special connection to the hospital – having been born there—it has sadden him to see the
Building diminish through the years.
"We've seen it fall down and the way it looks causes to have a bad environment", said Valdez.
He says he has witnessed vandalism.
"And they went in there they destroyed, they caused fire and they thing to the place cause its abandoned", said Valdez.
City council has addressed the issue to the owners in the past who say they continuously look for investors.
But Valdez is upset that even though there is no movement to improve the property, it continues to create an unpleasant view which he says causing people to refer to his neighborhood as a bad one.
"Also they haven't eve n cut the grass in years it looks abandoned they people who own it they don't even clean the property what so ever", said Valdez.
During Mondays' city council meeting council discussed potentially purchasing the property from its current owner.
All negotiation was done behind closed doors, city officials day that is done to protect the city's negotiation strategy but a the end of the executive session council took no action.
Valdez hopes as the future of the property is undecided, it ends in the hands of someone that intends to better his neighborhood.
"We don't appreciate seeing the hospital the way it looks, at all it's not right for the people who own it to leave it looking in the community the way it looks", said Valdez.
It has not been decided if city council will continue to negotiate.
KGNS reached out to the property owners but did not get a response.
